


A Simple, Friendly Outing

by EHC



Series: Agent Max Caulfield, UIU [3]
Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game), SCP Foundation
Genre: Badass Max, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-24
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:41:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24886270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EHC/pseuds/EHC
Summary: Nothing to be alarmed about. It's just a friendly outing between two UIU agents at Sweet's Confectionaries and Pastries, an ordinary bakery that's totally not a front for the SCP.Really.
Relationships: None
Series: Agent Max Caulfield, UIU [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1546837
Comments: 5
Kudos: 24





	A Simple, Friendly Outing

**Author's Note:**

> Had an idea for one specific scene of Max acting like an absolute badass, and decided that this AU was the perfect place to experiment with it. From there, it just kind of wrote itself.

Saturday, March 15, 2025  
11:27 AM

Taisha Monroe, UIU Agent by day, sat at an outside table at the Sweet's Confectionaries and Pastries bakery/coffee shop, sipping at her mocha latte, waiting for her guest to arrive. A glance at her phone showed that there was still three minutes until their scheduled meeting but she wasn't concerned. If there was one thing that she knew about Max by now, it's that she was never, ever late.

Sure enough, two and a half minutes later found Max Caulfield, fellow UIU Agent by day, crossing the street and approaching the bakery. Taisha smiled pleasantly as Max took a seat across from her. "Punctual as always."

"I do my best," Max said with a smile, turning to face the waitress as she approached.

"Good afternoon, my name is Rebecca and I'll be taking care of you. Would you like something to drink or perhaps a menu? We have a wonderful collection of cupcakes, pies, and tarts available, all freshly made."

"Do you have hot cocoa, by any chance?" Max asked.

"Absolutely. We actually make a sinfully decadent hot cocoa that uses real melting chocolate. None of that powder stuff that other places might serve. Couple that with a splash of cream and it's the only drink you'll ever want to get in the future.

Max smiled at that. "Sold. I'll take a mug of cocoa and something with fruit to balance it out."

"They make a very lovely cherry pie that's to die for," Taisha added.

"Cherry pie it is."

Rebecca jotted that down onto a pocket notepad and gave Max a friendly smile. "I'll be right out."

<<<<<<<<<<[X]

Saturday, March 15, 2025  
11:27 AM

Taisha Monroe, UIU Agent by day, sat at an outside table at the Sweet's Confectionaries and Pastries bakery/coffee shop, sipping at her mocha latte, waiting for her guest to arrive. A glance at her phone showed that there was still three minutes until their scheduled meeting but she wasn't concerned. If there was one thing that she knew about Max by now, it's that she was never, ever late.

Sure enough, two and a half minutes later found Max Caulfield, fellow UIU Agent by day, crossing the street and approaching the bakery. Taisha smiled pleasantly as Max took a seat across from her. "Punctual as always."

"I do my best, Monroe," Max politely stated.

"We're off-duty right now," Taisha reminded Max. "You can call me by my first name. No need for all the formalities here."

"I'll keep that in mind," Max replied, then turned to face the waitress as she approached the table.

"Good afternoon, my name is Rebecca and I'll be taking care of you. Would you like something to drink or perhaps a menu? We have a wonderful collection of cupcakes, pies, and tarts available, all freshly made."

"Just a bottle of water, please. Thank you."

"Are you sure?" Taisha asked, leaning forward a smidgen. "The bakers here are phenomenal and make a killer cherry pie."

"Not at this time," Max said with a shake of her head. "Maybe later."

Rebecca nodded. "Sure thing. I'll bring it right out."

Max waited until the waitress had vanished back into the store. "So, what's the occasion? Why the invite?"

Taisha took a sip from her mug. "Partly because we haven't really ever hung out like this off the clock," she answered. "I always try my best to get to know my fellow agents better. Helps build trust in the field."

"Makes sense."

"But," Taisha continued, "it's also because I find you fascinating, Max."

Who cocked her eyebrow. "Really."

"Yes. You're absolutely dedicated to your job, almost to the point of being a workaholic. At first, I figured you were just anti-social. God knows the UIU gets enough of those types."

"Ugh," Max muttered in agreement. "Tell me about it. Remember Morris?"

"I'm trying to forget, actually. I seriously don't understand how he made it through the screening process in the first place," Taisha stated as Rebecca came back and set down a bottle of water on the table near Max.

Who nodded politely, then twisted the cap off and took a healthy swig. "If I had to guess, I'd say recruitment numbers were down that year and someone needed to look good, so certain scores got fudged."

"Sounds about right.

<<<<<<<<<<[X]

Saturday, March 15, 2025  
2:41 PM

Taisha Monroe entered her modest apartment, secured the door behind her, then kicked off her shoes. She let out a long sigh, disappointed at the afternoon's events. Or, more specifically, the lack of events. She had a friendly meeting planned with Max but her co-worker had to cancel abruptly. Apparently, she encountered a multi-vehicle pile up while en-route to the bakery and, seeing several people were injured, had rushed over to render whatever assistance she could. Taisha promised Max that it was okay, they could easily reschedule, then, after saying goodbyes, disconnected the call.

And immediately used her sources to confirm that yes, there was, in fact, a multi-car accident that had occurred on Max's presumed avenue of approach. Emergency services had been called to the scene and there was confirmation through the police radio chatter that an FBI agent who happened to be nearby was rendering assistance to the injured civilians. All completely legitimate.

Thank Christ.

Sometimes, she really hated being as hyper vigilant as she was but it never, ever payed to make assumptions. She had to be certain Max's sudden cancelation didn't indicate her cover had been blown. That would be disastrous.

She entered her small bedroom and emptied her pockets, setting her wallet and badge on the end table, then placed her hip holster and sidearm on it as well. She stripped off her clothes and dumped them into a hamper in the corner. Her bra quickly followed and she groaned in relief to finally rid herself of the garment, scratching at the indentations the straps left in her shoulders. She tossed on a loose t-shirt then exited the bedroom, intent on getting herself a beer.

The cold press of steel to the back of her neck stopped her in her tracks and a split second later, the unmistakable sound of a hammer being cocked back made her blood run cold.

"What you're feeling on the back of your neck is a .45 Colt Defender semi-automatic pistol. The hammer is cocked and you better believe there's a round in the chamber. And before you get any ideas about trying one of your fancy self-defense techniques to disarm me, know that I have a second Defender in my other hand, ready to pull the trigger the second you even breathe too hard. I am not fucking around and I will not hesitate to kill you. Is that understood?"

It wasn't just the threat of immediate death that nearly caused Taisha to piss herself. It was the voice. It was very familiar, one she heard nearly everyday for almost a year. She swallowed, trying to get some moisture back in her throat, before finally asking, "Max?"

Who nudged Monroe's neck forward with her pistol. "On your knees. Hands at your sides. Nice and slow."

Taisha followed the directions carefully, easing herself to her knees, then, with more prodding, laid facedown on the hallway floor, arms stretched out ahead of her. She grunted slightly as Max crouched down and jammed a knee into the small of her back, then froze again when she felt two guns press into her spine.

"Now, I'm going to ask you some questions. And you had better not fucking lie to me, not even once, or I swear to whatever god you don't believe in, I will kill you."

<<<<<<<<<<[X]

Saturday, March 15, 2025  
11:27 AM

Taisha Monroe, UIU Agent by day, sat at an outside table at the Sweet's Confectionaries and Pastries bakery/coffee shop, sipping at her mocha latte, waiting for her guest to arrive. A glance at her phone showed that there was still three minutes until their scheduled meeting but she wasn't concerned. If there was one thing that she knew about Max by now, it's that she was never, ever late.

Sure enough, two and a half minutes later found Max Caulfield, fellow UIU Agent by day, crossing the street and approaching the bakery. Taisha smiled pleasantly as Max stood at the seat across from her. "Punctual as always."

Max failed to reply, taking a moment to look around, then took a careful look through the bakery windows. "Hmm."

"Is something wrong?" Taisha asked, her voice concerned.

"No," Max replied after a long pause, then took her seat. "Everything's just fine."

A waitress exited the bakery at that moment and approached the table. "Good afternoon, my name is Rebecca and I'll be taking care of you. Would you like something to drink or perhaps a menu? We have a wonderful collection of cupcakes, pies, and tarts available, all freshly made."

"No."

Rebecca seemed to be taken aback by the brusque response but recovered smoothly enough. "Well, okay. But if you change your mind, I'll be here for you."

Taisha leaned forward a touch. "Are you sure you don't want anything? The bakers here are phenomenal and make a killer cherry pie." She grinned. "And I know you like cherry since I've seen you eat more than a few of the Hostess cherry pies in the cafeteria."

"True enough," Max conceded, "but I'm just getting really sick and tired of getting drugged."

There was a pregnant pause before Taisha broke out into a small smile. "You're joking, right? What're you talking about?"

Max nodded towards the bakery window. "'Sweet's Confectionaries and Pastries.' SCP. Secure, Contain, Protect." She shrugged. "I'm honestly irritated I didn't catch it at first since you guys do tend to follow a pattern when it comes to naming your fronts. Too distracted, I suppose, lulled into a false sense of security by someone who's supposed to be my co-worker, fellow Agent I thought I could trust, and member of the UIU." She sat back in her seat. "But you're not. You're a plant."

Taisha broke the silence much quicker this time. "You seriously think this establishment is a front for the skippers?"

"You're good, I'll grant you that. Quick to deflect, like you just tried, and great an improvising. I can see why you were selected to infiltrate the UIU." Max smirked. "But I'm better." And with a slight flick of the wrist, slid something across the table.

Taisha glanced down to see her own SCP Level 2 Security Badge resting on the glass top. She looked back up and immediately switched gears. "The fact that you knew but still showed up today is a sign of your arrogance."

"And the fact that you thought I couldn't take care of your backup demonstrates yours," Max replied, then reached forward and dumped a fistful of 30.06 rifle cartridges onto the table.

"What the hell is this?" Taisha demanded.

"Your sniper's ammunition." Max jerked a thumb over her shoulder. "He's about 150 meters in that direction, seventh floor, with orders to kill me should things go to absolute shit."

Taisha blinked at Max. "Even if that were true--" She stopped when Max dropped else onto the table. "What's--"

"And that's the bolt to the .50 caliber anti-armor rifle of shooter number 2, about 1000 meters that way," Max said, pointing down the street in the opposite direction. "Your secondary sniper, just in case I'm somehow capable of withstanding normal caliber rounds."

_Now_ Taisha was starting to lose her cool. Her hand twitched as she tried to determine if she'd be able to reach her sidearm before Max did... something.

Max saw the movement and shook her head. "I'm not here to hurt you or anyone, despite me having several damn good reasons, so calm down. And besides, it's not like you have your gun anyway."

Taisha blinked again, then reached for her hip holster only to find it empty. She felt every single hair stand up on her arms when Max dropped her missing sidearm onto the table. Whatever the fuck Max was, she had her dead to rights. Taisha did her best to swallow her trepidation. "What do you want, then?"

"To be left alone," was Max's immediate reply, as if expecting the question. "I have a good life now, with the UIU. I'm helping people. I want to continue to help people. And I can't do that if I'm a prisoner of the SCP."

No sense in denying anything at this point, so Taisha tried a different approach. "We don't keep prisoners. I don't know what you've heard or from where, but we secure, contain, and protect anomalous beings such as yourself. From being exploited by other groups of interest, from the fear of the general public, from yourselves if need be."

"By assigning them a number," Max countered, "never referring to them by their names, by dehumanizing them. By harshly disciplining any researcher who breaks this rule, accusing them of getting too close, too personal with them. By faking their deaths to the general public so their loved ones won't try to seek them out. By lying to them while they're in captivity, making them believe that their families are dead. Sometimes killing their families outright if they happen to know more than you think they should. Or, pumping said families full of drugs to make them forget they even had a husband, wife, son, or daughter." She snorted. "Some protection. I'd rather take my chances out here, thanks."

"We do what we have to--"

"Oh, spare me the doctrine and the company line," Max interrupted, suddenly irritated. "It's complete dogshit and if you don't know it, then you're a bigger jackass than I ever thought." She jammed a finger in Monroe's direction. "Your precious Foundation would exploit anomalous items and people in a heartbeat if it meant maintaining your so-called baseline reality, never once realizing that baselines can and do change. You're so desperate to keep the general public ignorant that you will gleefully break every law, every moral and ethical stance, to accomplish your goals, then afterwards, clap yourselves on the back for a job well done while standing atop a pile of corpses. Your organization is so fucking wrong it's pathetic, and you people have been drinking the Kool-Aid for so long, you can't even see it."

Max sat back and closed her eyes, visibly trying to calm herself. In that moment, Taisha eyes her sidearm, toying with the idea of going for it while Max was distracted, but no. No use. Max was somehow able to disarm both snipers while still remaining seated at the table. There was no telling what else she could do.

"I'm here to tell you that I'm not going back," Max said, opening her eyes, her voice steady once more. "I'm here to stay. And I will fight tooth and nail to maintain my freedom from the likes of you for as long as it takes."

"What do you mean, 'not going back?'" Taisha asked, trying not to eye the bakery window. Where the hell was her backup?

"If it hasn't occurred to you by now, everyone in the bakery is incapacitated," Max said very matter-of-factly. "Not dead, though. I don't believe in killing anyone unnecessarily. And to answer your question, I was a prisoner of your organization once before. Not 'secured.' A prisoner. Whose parents were made to believe I had been killed, who had to redo her entire life and miss out on reforming deep and meaningful relationships with loved ones, for fear of them getting mind-wiped again. That's why I know your secure, contain, protect doctrine is a load of horseshit." She cocked her head to her left. "And there they are."

"'They,' who?"

"Your ultimate backup. Your extraction team. The MTF. The ones your snipers called the moment they realized they couldn't take a shot." Max gave Monroe a steady look. "Except they're not going to make it."

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, this had gone to complete and utter dog shit. "Why not?"

"They're about to be intercepted by a Chaos Insurgency cell operating in the city. They received a pretty reliable tip that said task force was transporting a powerful anomalous artifact that they've been wanting to get their hands on for quite some time." Max gave Monroe a cold smile. "And they're not going to stop until they get it."

In the distance, Taisha could see two large MTF transport vehicles approaching her position when suddenly, another pair of vehicles came screaming down the intersecting street to T-bone the trucks in a horrendous crash. She shot out of her seat as both factions poured out of their vehicles, weapons drawn, and immediately began firing at each other.

"You said you weren't here to hurt anyone!" Taisha cried out, horrified.

"And I'm not. This is all your fault. You and your fucking organization. You push and push, so convinced you have the moral high ground that you're constantly surprised when someone pushes back." Max shrugged. "You had snipers at the ready, nearly everyone in that bakery armed, and even a squad of MTF ass-kickers ready to take me out. Why are you surprised that I decided to fight back?"

Taisha whirled around and slammed her hands flat on the table. "Stop this! I don't know what you are or what you can do, but please, stop this right now!!"

"You're in no position to demand anything from me," Max replied, her voice flat. "But, if you insist." And with that, Max reached forward and dumped a fistful of metal onto the table.

Taisha looked down and blinked. "What's...?"

"Oh, those? Those are all the safety pins to every single grenade held by both sides of the fight."

In the moment it took Max's words to register, the fuses to nearly four dozen fragmentation, smoke, and phosphorous grenades burned down, triggering a near-simultaneous explosion that ripped men, women, and vehicles to shreds. Taisha staggered back a step, raising an arm to shield her eyes from the searing intensity of the detonations. When she was able to see the intersection clearly again, there was nothing left but the burning wreckage of the trucks and small, smoking lumps of what might've once been people. "Oh, my God..."

"I'm certain your superiors will ensure this is all swept under the rug in a matter of hours," Max said, seemingly unmoved by the carnage. "I anticipate they'll blame a terrorist faction of some kind, then work to obfuscate any crime scene reports, take over any investigations that happen, and plant and destroy any evidence as needed to maintain their precious veil."

"I--" Taisha's voice broke as the enormity of what just occurred finally hit. Tears fell from her eyes and she sniffed, unable to look away. "I..." Again, her voice cracked. "I didn't mean for this to happen," she whispered harshly to herself.

Max, however, heard her words, and was relieved. Monroe, it seemed, did have a heart. Not all of the people within SCP were mindless drones, she knew, but having had to redo her entire life four times over made it easier to forget. Still, she wasn't a cruel person, and really didn't want to kill anyone, even in self defense, so instead of jumping back a single day like she originally planned, she opted for a different approach. "Monroe."

At the quiet utterance, Taisha tore her gaze away from the ruined intersection to look at her former colleague. "Is it my turn now?" she asked, genuine fear in her eyes and voice.

"No," Max said as she reached into the inside pocket of her jacket and withdrew a single photograph. "I'm here to tell you that none of this is permanent and I'm about to wipe it clean. I just needed to test something." She gave Monroe a small smile. "Congrats. You passed."

"I... I don't understand."

"And you never will." Max focused her attention on the photo in her hands. While she really didn't need them anymore, it did make the journey easier on her psyche when her memories merged into her younger self.

<<<<<<<<<<[X]

Monday, June 3, 2024  
4:15 PM

Assistant Director Franklin glanced up when he heard a knock on his door. "Enter." A moment later, Agent Caulfield entered his office, a manila folder in hand.

"The preliminary report concerning the storage unit, sir."

"Excellent. And ahead of schedule." The Assistant Director reached out his hand and took the folder offered him, then scanned its contents. "The storage facility's history is quite normal, I see."

"Yes, sir. I could see no indication of unusual happenings nearby. There have been a few cases of vandalism there in the past and close enough to the specific storage unit itself that never triggered the artifact, which leads me to believe that it may have held a timing mechanism as well as a proximity trigger."

"And the possibility it was a long-term booby trap against us, specifically?"

"Slim. More likely, the timing mechanism on the artifact was placed to ensure it wouldn't detonate before its creator could vacate the neighborhood and possibly the city and state. We just happened to be the first ones unlucky enough to approach it once the timer had expired."

"Hmm." Assistant Director Franklin skimmed the pages for another minute before closing the file and handing it back. "Good work. See to it it's filed away in its rightful spot."

"Yes, sir."

When Max failed to depart immediately, Assistant Director Franklin raised an eyebrow. "Something else you wish to add?"

"Yes, sir, though not about the report or today's incident." Max lowered her voice a bit. "It's important."

The code phrase made Assistant Director Franklin's heart sink, though he gave no outward sign. Instead, he motioned towards the chair in front of his desk, and when Agent Caulfield sat, let out a slow sigh. "I'm not going to like this, am I?"

"I'm afraid not, sir."

"I figured as much." Taking a moment to clear his mind of other distractions, he looked at the youngest/oldest member of his unit, and said, "Very well. Explain."

**Author's Note:**

> The final scene of this work is actually a continuation from the ending of the first work in this series, [Hiding In Plain Sight](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21374017). The idea is that Max reveals to her boss that Agent Monroe is actually an SCP plant and has been for quite some time. Sadly, he isn't surprised by this development at all, having figured that his agency had at least one. He's unlikely to give her the boot, though, as he operates under the "better the devil you know" mentality.
> 
> The original idea that prompted this entire work had Max (not necessarily this Max, either) is outnumbered, outgunned, and surrounded by a hostile force of some sort. Someone gets the drop on her and things are looking rather bleak. But when whoever asks her to raise her hands above her head, they see she's holding a bunch of grenade pins in both hands. Before they can react, Max rewinds as far as she can go, then counts to three.
> 
> Kaboom.
> 
> "miss out on reforming deep and meaningful relationships with loved ones, for fear of them getting mind-wiped again" - this references her original life that was lost, post-Bae. Supposedly, Max and Chloe were in a horrific car accident. Chloe was "ejected" from the truck, the blow to the head swiss-cheesing her memories of Max, while Max was trapped in the wreckage and was burned beyond all recognition. All bullshit, of course. The SCP kidnapped Max, mind-wiped Chloe, and planted evidence of said accident so Max's parents wouldn't try looking for her.
> 
> When Max escaped that first time, she relived her life, but made no arrangements to go to Blackwell, so no Kate or Chloe or Dana or anyone else. She avoided Oregon completely, felt she had to, but did make enough changes to save Rachel, so that Chloe would have someone by her side, then altered things here and there to ensure they had a good shot at a great life in Los Angeles.
> 
> As before, I don't know when I'll add more to this AU but if inspiration does strike, I'll be sure to expand things again.


End file.
